I recently read an Instagram post from Eddie Hall talking about his training routine. If you don't know who Hall is, he won the World's Strongest Man competition in 2017. A beast of a man, he is one of the strongest, most dedicated humans to ever walk the earth.

Reading his post, something stuck out: just how much he did outside of the gym.

A lot of the world's leading fitness trainers recommend taking cold showers. Who has the amount of ice needed for a full bath? I wanted to find out why, and the results were nothing short of shocking.

What Cold Showers Do to Muscle Tissues

Cold showers will lower the body's temperature, and the cold water will lower the temperature of damaged muscle tissues. The practice will reduce swelling, discomfort and pain. And when done on a whole body level, you'll be doing a few things:

Decreasing your heart rate

Increasing your circulation

Reducing inflammation

Promoting recovery

Studies also show that ice baths or very cold shows reduce muscle soreness better than rest.

The water needs to be around 50 – 59 F to reduce effective soreness.

But keep in mind that during the cold winter months when pipes freeze, you may want to take warm showers until the weather warms up. "Frozen pipes are always a serious problem to worry about in cold weather. When water freezes, it expands in the process of becoming ice. This expansion produces pressure that can burst your pipes, causing severe water damage and thousands of dollars' worth of repair and replacement work," writes Feltner's Sewer and Drain Services.

Cold May Promote Fat Burning

There's a lot of talk about cold water and boosting your brown fat. People drink cold water to kick start this process, which forces your metabolic rate to rise to raise your body's temperature. Cold showers and ice therapy are believed to do the same thing.

Cooling your body can burn 300% more fat.

But you'll need to be willing to spend 20 minutes in one of these cold baths or showers to truly experience the benefits. If you can be that dedicated, you'll find that the brown fat activates to warm the body, burning more fat in the process.

Bodybuilding.com also claims that taking a cold shower can:

Improve the body's testosterone production

Improve immune system response to illness and disease

Relieve depression

Aid in workout recovery efforts

Increase energy levels

Provide increased blood circulation

Promote a better night of sleep

Cold showers are a great option for anyone who wants to increase their fitness levels, boost post-workout recovery or enjoy a happier lifestyle.

A main concern that people have is how long to stay in the shower or bath. Well, studies suggest that you should spend 20 minutes in the ice-cold bath. But a lot of people choose to take a shower for 3 – 4 minutes on the coldest setting with great results.

Take your time, adjust to the cold and increase your time if you're not seeing results.